I am personally not influenced by an official voice cast, but many people like hearing famous people in video games. I think it all depends on the buyer.

Personally, voice acting matters very little to me. That's why I love Nintendo games ^_^. The only voice acting i've ever cared about is Sonic the Hedgehog. I very much dislike the voice actor he has now.

I don't think it makes them seem like a lesser art at all. The fact that a MOVIE actor takes time out of their MOVIE making schedule to help create video games makes it seem like a great medium in its own right next to film. The great voice actors always help improve game quality especially if it's the official voice of the license, like having Mark Hamill reprise his role as Joker in Arkham Asylum

I think it became much more relevant starting with the current generation of consoles.

I think the actors do better then stand in actors trying to be them, but if the script is bad then there is nothing the actors can do.

I feel divided when it comes to voice acting. On one hand, you care about these characters and identify with them based on how you know them. You expect Iron Man to look, act and sound like Iron Man. You expect Sam Fisher to not have apparently stumbled upon the fountain of youth between games and lose his original gruff voice. On the other hand, these differences may only standout at first simply due to them being new and different. I have no doubt that after immersing yourself in any game, you will cease to notice or feel that it influences your experience. This is only true, however, if the new experience is one of quality. Change isn't inherently bad, but certainly appears that way if it comes off as cheapening the overall result.

I think that good voice acting can be a huge improvement, but just text works fine as well.

well, it depends on the character they voiced (or dubbed) by. But for me, voice acting is also an important essentials to a good game.

I think it might be relative to what game it is and whether the original actors were really the best choices for those roles. In the case of Batman: Arkham Asylum I thought it was terrific that they brought back most of the main voice cast from the animated series, and didn't care for the voices that substituted them in the Harley Quinn's Revenge dlc for Arkham City. Then on the other hand you have Daniel Craig who is a solid James Bond on screen (not the best, but suitable), but totally boring and monotonous as a voice for Bond in the games.

If the game is going to include voice acting, then it should at least be close to the original voice. It doesn't have to be exact, just very close.

It really depends on the game. If the series (or installment) of film(s) featured strong acting, acting so good that the story depended on it, then yes, I would argue that the game should have similar, if not the same, quality of voice-overs. Personally, I prefer gameplay over story, so voice acting does not really mask the bad components of a mediocre game. As for the actors not wanting to reprise the roles, it makes no sense. Are they not getting paid? lol and it's still art to me, no matter who does it. However, it is always nice to have superb voice acting if the production qualities of the game, such as graphics, are superb as well. It can make you forget you're playing a game=)

In my opinion good voice acting can make a good game better, but it can't make a great game bad. Much like how I feel graphics and sound can be bonuses, voice acting, graphics, and sound design shouldn't be what we base the merits of a game off of. Judge not the quality of the appearance but the content of the game.

It doesn't matter.  I mean in some cases,  it makes sense and brings a sense of nostalgia (Batman Arkham games) but I could care less if Daniel Craig Didn't voice James Bond.

I think it matters. It just feels very odd in a game when the voices are different than from the movie.

If they have the license, I think the original voice cast should be used.  Otherwise, why have the license?

Well I personally feel like good voice acting can make a game great. Martin Sheen in Mass Effect was amazing and made it timeless. Fallout New Vegas had a great cast that I felt brought alot of character to the game. Im really bummed that they chaned actors for Sam Fischer.Imo they should have tken that as an oppertunity to bring in a new character. It just doesnt make sense anymore.

If the voice actor sounds something like the actor than I think it is OK I only have a problem when the voice actor doesn't sound a all like in the show or movie ex. NCIS game.

I always like hearing some great actors pop up in video games(Keith David has an awesome voice). I don't think I've ever bought a game based on a voice actor, and I'm not sure if I've played a game that it detracted from the experience; so I think it doesn't make much of a difference to me.

Not important at all to me. I'd prefer non-famous voice actors, much more immersive to me.  It's not bad if its for a reason though.  And no more Nolan North.  I am 100% sick of that guys voice.

being a musician and somebody who is currently a music production student at Ohio University, I enjoy sound design the most in game. I always play with HD headphones on to get the full effect. voice actors and musical scores. I'm a huge fan of scores that Bioware has in games,